It Takes a Village to Raise a Child
by Themer101
Summary: Alex cant find a his sister. But in her place is a letter from the millitary. And because Dana is involved, Alex plays there game. He's always wondered who Greene's child was and what exactly Project PARIAH was.
1. 1: Prologue: Time Alone

So me and a friend have been ruling Prototye one and two... ppreeettttyyyy awsome. I enjoy the idea and the characters are pretty awsome. But I was rather depressed that PARIAH wasn't explained fully and then not introduced in prototype 2. Like, COME ON! They coulda either told us more about him in one or talked about him in two. Annnyyyywwaaayyyyy... This is my take on how that could have happened.

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It Takes a Village to Raise a Child

Alex Mercer was not having a good day. Scratch that. The day had been fine. A piece of paper with three words and eleven digits effectively ruined it. A piece of paper he had found by his body's younger sister's desk a few hours back. And his day had seemed so normal! Well, as normal as normal can get when your a virus that kills _everything_ and the military hates you and wants you dead twenty four seven. So a normal day by his standards. Alex had been replaying it for at least two hours now, trying to figure out where it had gone so wrong. Maybe he coulda stopped it.

Jumping up to the top of a _worse for wears _apartment building which was now being utilized as a safe house for him and his _sister_, he had walked in, as usual. It was to risky to have to knock on her door and wait outside so he just knocked on the door frame once he was in to see if she was home. Which she should be seeing as he told her to stay put and ask him if she needed anything from out side the safety of her friends apartment. He didn't like the idea of her going out and possibly getting caught or catching the infection. It was a miracle as is that he hasn't infected her yet. If she doesn't answer at the knock, she's generally sleeping either on the couch is she was taking a nap, in the room if she deiced to actually go to bed..., or occasionally in her chair if she was working hard on a project.

Since it was around three in the afternoon, he had check on the couch. When she wasn't there, Alex went over to the bedroom. Nothing. He checked the bathroom because he had to pass it anyway and didn't find her there either. Looking into the kitchen as he passed on his way to her office, a feeling began to bloom in his chest. He wasn't going to kid himself. He was getting worried. He wasn't even going to stop himself from feeling this emotion. His sister has not answered him or showed up. He Felt a lump in his throat once he reached the office and didn't see her in her chair. The laptop screen was in sleep mode so it hasn't been touched in more then half an hour. The chair was over in some direction and turned at an odd angle. Looking back on it now, there was probably a struggle.

Alex just stared at the empty office for a couple minutes trying to comprehend what exactly was happening. It was as if his mind couldn't find what was wrong with the odd scene in front of him and So he just stared, taking in deep breaths. Then he thought that the fact that he couldn't find hats normally there, he'd just have to find something that _wasn't_ suppose to be there.

Alex had took long, brisk strides over to the deck, looking for clues. The desk was littered with papers, pens, sticky notes, coffee cups, city maps, empty energy drink cans, and plates. But this was normal. Nothing out of the ordinary. He shook the mouse thinking maybe a clue would show up there. No new windows, documents, or images. Alex moved the mouse over to the 'recent places' on the start menu and he couldn't differentiate between what was hers and what didn't belong. That frustrated him graetly. And with the new frustration sparked fear. Alex shock his head fiercely and with new determination, continued his search. He pulled out the key board shelve and froze.

There was a envelope. Addressed to him. In unfamiliar print. It had a seal. From the Military.

"Shit!" Alex cursed and started heading towards the door. He wasn't in the mood to blasted through a wall or window right now. Not like last time. Then he stopped. He had been in the apartment for more than half an hour now. When the military attempted to blow him out of HIS apartment, they only waited five minutes. They could be waiting for him outside. He turned on his info-red vision and went to all the windows and the door, looking around the surrounding roof tops. Nothing. This confused Alex. Things weren't adding up.

He went through what he knew. He knew his sister was missing. She could either be dead or captured. If she was captured, the military most likely had her. Theywere mos likely watching him, some how some way, but hadn't attacked him yet. Why? There was no clues. Alex put the heals of his hands to his face. And was scratched by something in his hand.

But there was this letter. This letter that he was holding. He opened it in a rush. The couch seemed to magically appear under him after he read it the first time. Then must have read it eight time before fully understanding it.

'_We have her. _

_ 3-507-555-7846'_

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_So, what you think? Comment and rate please feed back loved!_


	2. 2: Painful Times

HEY! this took longer then it should have but i have examsnso meh. Shout out to Ironcoremagma and shioifeather for the alerts and advise. Tell me if you like it!

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A man in a pastel gray suit walked down an fairly busy intersection which was annoying sense it was not quite five o'clock am. The man had tried to beat rush hour this morning to no avail. It wasn't so much that he mind walking around during rush hour, sure the streets were almost as busy as the roads but it was still faster. But ever sense the outbreak of the Blacklight virus the business man didn't care for being outside longer then necessary. No a days, he attempt to avoid any physical contact with passer by's and wore a face mask. The red smoke that assembled in parts of the city almost seemed to slowly and deliberately being pulled over them like a the body bag.

He stopped at a intersection with a fairly small amount of people. He kept his head down and had his briefcase pulled up to his chest. He choose to stare at the walk sign then the miserable cloudy sky with the red tinge creeping in like the virus on the ground. He did how ever, do a quick three sixty head turn to check the stability of the surrounding building, being oblivious to the man in the black leather jacket and the gray hood. Not being completely satisfied with the building to his left, he shuffled over a foot or two.

The walk sign turned green and the small group of people moved forward like a mob of sheep. All hustling and bustling together as one. Unfortunately, the hustling and bustling was a perfect cover for a quite murder and morph. He man in the gray suit only had time to process one word as strong arms wrapped around his neck and torso. He felt breathing on his neck. The man attempted to turn his head to no avail, his eyes locking on the sleeve of a black leather jacket. '_What?' _A sicking crack was muffled by tendrils consuming human flesh at an alarming speed as the man continued his walk across the street.

Once across the street, the man dropped the briefcase by the wall of the nearest building. He continued straight ahead even as his memory and instincts mentioned to turn left. He made a quick turn into the nearest alley and sprinted up the crumbling wall. Once up to the top of the twenty eight story tower, The man looked down. No soldiers appeared. Nor any scientists. Alex Mercer morphed back into his regular body and continued on his way by roof top and out of the base radius.

He calculated he would need to consume at least five more people to be at his peak physical level. Alex glided across the gap made by the building he was on and the smaller green on across from him. As he glided through the sky, he saw a tornado of black feathers and harsh caws. '_Or one Hunter and one person.' _he thought as he tilted left. He couldn't take to long though. He had a personal mission to attend to.

The streets of the red zone were filled with blood and gore. An arm there. A leg here. I mangled body trying to set up before being shot back down by a man in uniform. Water tank after water tank exploded on the crumbling roofs if Alex was close for to long. That only happened once or twice. And even though Hunter after hunter came out of the exploding water tanks, he let them attempt to chase him down, only falling to the streets were they were blasted by tank missiles and machine gun.

Alex was going to wait tell he was closer to the border of the red zone to save travel time because once he killed one, the rest had a prime target. They all new who he was. It was difficult not to when you shared your thoughts with everyone. And Alex hardly had enough time for this pit stop let alone what ever set back fighting eight hunters and risk an air strike being called in because and unlucky solider happens to watch him squish his partner with a hunter or piece of debris.

Up ahead a few blocks, a black, sooty mushroom cloud broke out above the buildings. A large boom was sounded after like a clap of thunder and the unmistakeable smell of fire power filled Alex's noes. The rounds being shot seemed to have tripled in this particular area as did the shrieks and moans of those touched by the virus. Screams of both tear, adrenaline, and pain mingled into one unbalanced sympathy. Alex's stopped on the building under him as the monstrosity came into his sight range. In the center of the glorious chaos stood a might force. The walls of a ragged apartment building or office building, not that you could till the difference, was enforced by laces of red tendrils and sacks. The building itself appeared sickly. The fitting images to a mighty hive of the pandemic.

Alex stared at it. This particular aspect of the 'war' played a huge role. It was the fortress of the enemy, a save haven for the wounded and a living gene pool to be examined. The battle over the area was going no where for either side. Mobs of soldiers battled swarms of infected citizens. Fierce Hunters exerted themselves against the sheer battle power of the military's tanks. And when the aw inspiring super soldiers came out, the ferocious leaders made them think twice.

Alex let out a small chuckle. "Neither of them get anywhere with out help or leverage..."he said softly, shaking his head before running to the end of the building and jumping into the air moving on. Once he was a couple of blocks away from the boarder, Alex went and stood in front of a water tank. The tanks rusty exterior could almost be moving o some one. As the orange strands got to the upper levels of the case, Alex Mercer's right arm began to melt into a shiny, liquid, substance which stretched it's self pas his knees almost to his ankle, and just under his ear. The liquid part of the new appendage was absorbed back in to the rest of it and a shiny metal was left in its wake.

The vandalized water tank burst open as an averaged sized Hunter. How charged Mercer almost immediately. Alex simply jumped up right as the hunter moved his arms behind him. Landing behind it, Alex went to hacking at its back. He pierced his blade right down the hunters spine. And Creature roared in protest and pain, he span around and began swinging blindly. Alex simply side stepped and drove his blade right through the thing's stomach, smirking with sick satisfaction as the blade broke the skin. A gargling noise was heard and the hunter leaned forward, vomiting blood. Alex got in front of it and grabbed where the ears should have been and consumed him. After his body stabled, he put back on his disguised and ran back to the base zone.

Sense Alex was in the blue zone, if he wasn't disguise as a military something or other, he stayed to the roof tops or the alleys. It was not uncommon to run into citizens in the alleys nor was it uncommon to have to cease movement as a heli past by. He destination was in his sights from the top of the building he was standing on. A city park. Filled with people.

Now usually Alex avoided packed areas due to the risk of spreading the infection around more but today was special. He had a phone call to make. And because he didn't trust the person he was contacting and wouldn't put it past them to attack him while he was distracted by the phone call, Alex decided he would go to one of the busiest parks in the city. At least twenty people were on their cell phone or at a pay phone at a time.

Jumping off the top of the building and into the dirty ally way, Alex began to walk toward the road and almost tripped over leg. Not his leg of course. Stumbling slightly, and then whipping around into a defensive position, only to have his eyes land on a passed out drunk on the floor behind a trash bin. The corner of Alex's lips arched up slightly while is eyes adapted a devilish tint.

Alex confidently strode over to the man and gripped the area of the mans neck that connected to the shoulder. He then held him an arms lank way. With the sudden blood flow, the man woke up groggy. "Hey Man...o you got any Glass? I'd even settle for weed?" The use-to-be-drunk mumbled as he leaned his head onto Alex's arm completely missing the lock of utter shock and surprise on his face. Not one had that ever happened to him. And now he was pretty sure the addict was drooling on his hand... lovely.

"No I have never. But I have some Black if you'd rather. Let me help you." Alex said calmly before punching straight through the mans chest, severing the spine. Not long after, more black and red tendrils enveloped the use-to-be-living and fed him to Alex. Now, with a full tank and a new skin, Alex strolled into the streets of New York. He made I to the walk way before violently heaving out the alcohol and drugs in hi system. Out of the corner of his eye, he was a man a few years younger than himself stare at him with disgust as the the black tar with the green tint expelled itself form him. Once that was done, Alex looked the kid in the eye before licking his lips clean and showing off a sadistic smile. The guy briskly strolled past him before breaking out into a jog. Alex chuckled then headed into the park.

He walked around the perimeter before buying a water and walking on the twisty path. The water was more for show. He'd never drink it. As Alex walked around, he began seeing memories from the really Mercer's past. Driving by on the way to work. Collecting samples from the pond. The memories would appear at the sight at something familiar but pending on how important it was, he wouldn't see much of it. A flash of a bike tier on pavement from an over looking few. He remembered what the trees looked like in the spring and summer. The fall image was the clearest though. Probably because the trees looked so similar now that they're half dead.

His eyes set on a bench. A blond haired women with blue eyes crossed his memories. She was pulling him, well trying, to pull him to the bench but she kept slipping on the ice ground. It was dark and slightly chilly. Once they got there, she laced her arm through his and placed her head on his shoulder. Alex willed the memory vanish like the way their breath in puffs of mist vanished. He didn't want to think of Karen. He'd cleaned his hands with her the moment after he left that elevator.

He walked around a little more making sure there was no obvious traps. He knew he should have hurried but he didn't have time to make rash dissions because he rushed. As much as this was killing him, he'd drag it out for as long as possible and deal with the consequences late. So he kept walking. When he got to a particular light pole he stopped and chuckled. He remembered tying a grounds keeper up there for telling him to leave cause it was after hours. This memory was his own and he wanted it to have its time.

He made it to the center of the park where once a grand monument had once stood in the center of a fountain. It use to show a family. On the one side of the water spout had a man with his arms out

and hands in a bracing position. On the in the middle above the spout was a little boy. His arms were also out but for balance. On the other end, the direction the little boy was heading, was a young women one arm one hand resting against the smile she was hiding.

But now the upper half of the man was missing. The right arm and right side of the women had melted. The child was really the only one to survive. He was badly burnt and his calve was in the well part of the fountain. A ripple in the water caught Alex's attention. To his left stood a little girl who just finished through in a penny. '_Making a wish..._' Alex thought. Then he saw almost directly in front of him but on the side opposite. She was taking a picture of the statue so he couldn't see her face. Her hair look freshly cut and her cloths looked clean. Alex felt himself feel lighter as she pulled the camera away from her face. But before it was visible, she faded away... like the ripples in the pound.

Next thing Alex knew, he was holding a pay phone to his ear and fumbling in his pocket, he was also breathing hard but from the run he didn't remember or because the lump in his throat he wasn't sure. Finally finding the paper he punched in the numbers into the keypad. " 3..5..0..7...5.5.5...7...846" Alex whispered. Then he waited.

It rang. Once. Twice. Three times. Then it started on it's forth when the it was picked up.

"Alex Mercer I presume." A cool voice picked up. A women. Alex simply exhaled in annoyance into the receiver. "How nice of you to call."

"Cut the bull shit. I'm not in the mood. You have my attention but I think you were striving for a different _kind_ of attention. Now, if you tell me where she is now, and I wont hunt you down and kill you slowly." Alex snarled.

"...My Name is Rachel Parlor. And I cant tell you where she is because I do not know. I was hoping to meet you and offer you a temporary job. Go to The warehouse on Baker Street by the pier tomorrow. _We'll_ be there between the hours of eight am and four thirty pm. Any further questions?" The women, Rachel said confidently. Alex breather heavily.

"And if I don't?" He couldn't help the worry that seeped into his voice.

"Then she stay's here longer. You have her back regardless if you except the job. We need to talk in person though. And waiting for you at the apartment wasn't safe. You understand." Alex gridded his teeth. He didn't like the knowledge that this women had control over him.

"Fine. Put for every complaint she makes, is one scar you'll have for the rest of your live. Huh... I wouldn't wear white." Alex said slowly with a cold bit. Then he hung up the phone, picked it up, crumpled it like it was merely paper, and threw it.

It rammed into the female statue from the fountain. The weak supports couldn't take the force and the statue plummeted into the waiting water, the bronze face half in the water as a drop of water slid down the face, from the eye to the tip of the noes.

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So? What you think? Comment!


	3. 3: Buildign Up Courage

Alright! There ya go, chapter three, all up and ready for you eager readers, I'm going to be perfectly honest, I didn't think this story would be as big of a hit as it seems to be so THANK YOU! Oh, here's a little note to everyone from me, I've been getting a lot of comments on my grammar, and that's totally fine, I actually appreciate it because it makes me more aware. But I think I'll give an explanation anyway. I'm dyslexic so spelling and grammar are not my strong suits. That being said, I wouldn't be against someone proof reading my work. So if you're interested, message me or comment. Anyway that's all. Enjoy!

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A dark grey cloud covered the city of New York. No rain but you could smell it in the air. The high wind speeds caused the ocean to push bigger waves forward. It was a good thing that Alex Mercer wasn't superstisous, otherwise he'd might suspect that today's weather forecast was a bad omen. Not that something like that would derail him of his goal. '_Get in, get out. Plain and simple. Kill all in the way on your way in, lay off on your way out_.' Alex thought. A crackle of thunder sent his eyes to the sky. Bad omen or not, Alex didn't feel like getting rained on today. So he jumped from his perch on top of some smoke tower a couple docks away from the warehouse he was going to infalltrate. After slamming the ground and scaring off a flock f seagulls, another crack of thunder roared. At first, Alex thought he broke the dock, but after it staying still he dismissed the idea and looked back up to the smoke tower. A flash of light crossed the sky that made Alex chuckle nervously. "Good timing Mercer..." he whispered to himself. He turned away from the tower, which happened to be the tallest in the area, and crossed the street.

It was just past eleven now and a poor jogger had the unpleasant chance of running right into Alex when he was looking for a disguised. Upon contact, Alex grabbed the women's arm and glared at her. She took in a startled breath and was about to apologize when his other hand wrapped around her neck and gave a twist, stepping into her as he did so. The jogger then continued to jog.

Both feeling and hearing the change in his pocket, Alex turned into a coffee shop kitty corner to the warehouse. The warehouse itself happened to be one of the only boat part dealerships that wasn't completely wreaked and was actually open for business before the quarnine. After buying a newspaper and ordering a chi latte, Alex sat down in one of the outside tables. He told the coffee maker not to bring the tea to him for another half hour.

Once seated outside, Alex started his investigation. First off, why _this_ warehouse? Blackwatch always chose their locations for a reason but what was the reason for this location. The only conclusion was that they had found out how his molecules would react when they had contact with water. But he was going to be inside nice and dry. And not to mention that this building was renovated eight years ago so the chances of a leak through the roof was slim to none. Alex scraped the water idea. Maybe the warehouse wasn't actually for boat parts? No, he had been here before with a coulege from work. It was normal locking and the only thing they didn't look at was the basement when they went.

Alex pinched his nose. This wasn't working. Alex put his chin on his fists and rested his arms on the table. In the distance, to the right slightly, you could just make out the shadow of the bridge back to the main land. Looking at the sillotte brought another fact to Alex's mind. There wasn't a base or hive anywhere near here. This was one of the cleanest spots on the map and it was nestled on the corner of the island. That was interesting. It would take at least twenty minutes for back up to get here.

He'd be gone in five minutes. With that factor in mind, Alex began to plan how he would get in and out undecteced. '_Just grab the one that looks like the commander….'_Alex though as he stood up. He sat backdown. He had been watching this building since seven o'clock am and it was now twelve forty pm. And not once did he see any patrol or security. He saw five people walk in and three walk out. Two people were not a problem. So what was?

There was no way this was as simple as it seemed to be. This was Blackwatch for the love of Pete! They always had _SOMETHING _under their sleeves. They just normally weren't this good at hiding it. Mind you he wasn't able to consult his usual informant… This brought on a whole new feeling of anger and determination. Alex needed a plan of action _now._ And since he couldn't get in through the back, the front was probably being watched. Probably, Alex wasn't positive. The side windows would be noicey, Alex picked to glide down onto the roof. Alex walked back into the coffee shop. "Hold the Chi." He told the tender and began to walk out. He stopped when he saw two people in suits sitting at his table.

One was a tall; vary built African American with no hair on his head and the start of a goatee. He was also wearing reflective sunglasses. His companion was his opposite. The smaller on was lanky but sturdy, Caucasian with platinum blonde hair tied back in a pony tail that ended just under his shoulder blades. He had bright blue eyes and the same reflective sunglasses pushed up on top his head. The blonde one was chatting away and the other started at Alex. Alex, remembering he was still disguised as a jogger, began to stretch his arms as he left the coffee shop. He got not three steps before one spoke.

"Is that a no to you joining us _Ms. _Mercer?" a confident voice spoke. "Oh Shaun? You owe me thirty bucks bucko!" Alex turned around to see the short blonde one holding his hand out to who could only be Shaun. Shaun took out his wallet and handed the other guy thirty dollars before looking at Alex. That's when it began to rain.

"Why don't you have a seat so we can chat?" Shaun asked in a forceful voice, indicating to the empty chair between the two. The blonde one offered a welcoming smile.

"Well Shaun, unless this is Miss. Rachel Parlor beside you," Alex asked in a questing tone. He put a clawed hand on top the blondes head and got a firm grip. He shifted back to his natural host and continued. "I have better things to do." He finished with a smile, giving the blonde a little squeeze. He saw Shaun tense but nothing else.

"That's why we're here! Look man, we don't want or need any trouble thank you very much! We were just sent to fetch you because you weren't coming in! Parlor sent us after we clocked you here for more than half an hour!" The blonde wasn't quite yelling but was defiantly starting to panic. Probably because Alex's hand was still on his head. He gave another tight squeeze before removing his hand. "We were just wondering what was with the hesitation."The blonde finished as he ran his fingers through his head. The look of shock on his face when his hands came back with a red tinge was priceless.

"Would you believe me if I said I wasn't sure if I had the right building?" Alex asked pulling up a chair at a different table. There were now two chairs and two tables in between them.

"No."Shaun answered strictly.

"Huh. Well _EEXXXCCUUUSSSEEE _me for being slightly cautious. I didn't realize I _had_ to show up. Seemed like an open invitation on the phone." Alex said with some bite.

"Sure. But we've been watching each other for hours now." The blonde chirped in.

"Why were you watching me?" Alex asked in a low whisper. He didn't like that idea.

"We weren't sure if you'd be rampaging first thing in the morning so we were looking out for you so we could get prepared. Then we watched you go into the coffee shop and come out here. And because we weren't sure what you were planning, the boss sent us out to scope. She wants as little casualties as possible." The blonde re tied up his hair. "Sounds fair?" Alex just nodded slowly. That was something he would have done if the safety of a loved one wasn't at stake. "She in there you know. And she's expecting you."

"What is your name?" Alex asked the blonde. His tone took a new edge in it.

"Harley." He chirped back. His face showed that he was calm but the tense shoulders showed he was nervous.

"You're going to come with me. Shaun is going to be a little tied up till I'm done. If all goes smoothly, then he'll come down early and move on with his life. If something bad happens while I'm in there, well, I'll be clearing his schedule. Understand?" Alex finished with a hiss.

The two agents shared a look before leaning back and facing away from him. He really didn't understand what they had to discus. Not like there was an option in his demand. And we wasn't going to let them change places. Finally they turned back around. "What are you going to have me tied up in doing?" Shaun asked. Alex just smiled.

Twenty minutes later, Shaun was tied to the same smoke stake that Alex had jumped down from earlier this morning. Alex was about five feet from the front door of the warehouse. Harley was holding the door open for him. '_No turning back once your inside. If they shoot, grab Harley and cleanse the area.'_ Alex thought as he felt more rain hit his arms. He walked in.

The shop looked almost identical as the first time he walked in. Boat displayed on the left, they had tarps draped over them currently. The right wall was an assortment of parts and the middle floor was accessories. There was also four small cat walks on around the perimeter. The counter in the back had been converted into what looked like a buffet. People in all sorts of uniforms traveled the floor with one thing in common. The Blackwatch symbol.

Alex couldn't help the growl that escaped his lips. This, naturally, got the attention of his escorts and the five people close to him. Harley Reached into his inside jacket pocket but did no more than that. Alex heard the safety of two rifles turn off and two rifles were trained on his chest. Alex simply squared his shoulders and bent his knees. '_If it's a fight they want…_' Alex stopped his thought when he noticed that the solider closest to his left hadn't moved very much. He was now only facing him but his rifle was tucked neatly away in its holster. But beyond the clutched fists, stiff back, and glass eyes, he looked fine.

This was intriguing. Alex had never encountered a low rank solider that wasn't shooting him to pieces or running away in fear. Maybe the private just didn't know he was scared or wasn't sure how to presume. Alex would just have to help him out. With casual steps that left a trail of confidence behind, Alex walked right over to the solider. Once there, he crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head to the side. The private's arms began to tremble. After about two minutes, "This is when you either raise your gun, or run and hide. I would not suggest running to your commanding officer though. I have a tendency to pick them over you sheep." Alex mumbled, staring intently at the private. He glanced down to the shiny name tag on his uniform. It read A. Ginger.

"I will not Mr. Alex J Mercer." Private Ginger bellowed. He was a good head shorter than Alex and was staring at his collars.

"Oh? And why's that?" Alex was genuinely curious. He was Blackwatch, wasn't he? Wasn't he supposed to kill on sight?"

"Under orders to not harm the suitor." Ginger stated out loud. The sounds of people in heavy attire entered Alex's head and as he looked around and watched in excitement as all the armed weapons were put back on safety and put away. Everyone went back to their regular business, if a bit wry. The tension in the air was still as thick as a boot but Blackwatch wasn't shooting or attempting to apprehend him in anyway.

"That'll be all Ginger." Harley ordered coming up beside Alex. Ginger gave a solute and continued on his way. "All right Alex, we should get you to your meeting." Harley said after and began walking towards the stairs by the one cat walk. As he was hoping up the stairs, he brought out his cell phone. "Al, Bennit, Cal, Darrin," He mumbelled off a few more, what Alex could guess were, names. "Marcel, Morrii, Pan, Ah here we are, Par-"

"And here I was hoping that if one of you wasn't coming back, it would be you." A cool, female voice sounded out ahead of them. Alex looked up so fast, that he was sure that if he wasn't super durable that he would have broken his neck.

"Ah Boss, you say the nicest things. No, Shaun is taking on for the team. Pretty much we don't get him back tell after Mercer here feel's safe. Alex Mercer, meet-"

"Rachel Parlor." A women in croutches greeted, extending a gloved hand. She quickly put it down when Alex's ice blue eyes pierced her soft hollow hazel ones. "Well, let us not leave poor Shaun out for too long and get this meeting started then." She had a fake smile on and Alex was pretty sure that she was talking to Harley more than him even though she held his gaze. "If you gentle men care to fallow me, we'll get started." She dropped eye contact enough to turn herself around and looked over her shoulder at them.

"No." Alex said firmly.

"No? I would have thought you would want to leave as soon as possible." Rachel stated. Her pitch was higher.

"Take me to her first." Alex scowled at himself when he heard the desperation in his voice.

"Did they not tell you she has been sedated? I can have them wake her up anf bring her-"

"Iwant to make sure she is alive and be there for her. I don't trust you and I don't want any threats be said just because I'm not around." That was better. Even with all the mushy stuff he said, he at least sounded noble. He watched Rachel weigh her options briefly before looking him in the eye again.

"Very well. Then Back down the stairs we go." Rachel said, pointing to the stairs they had just ascended with her croutch. Alex simply jump down, smirking as the shockwave caused a giant mess. He gave everyone a 'Try me.' Look and watched as they scurried to clean up the mess. He was so close but so much could still go wrong.

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I am so sorry it took as long as it did. i've been working and had writers block half way through. plus i was helping my friend move. Any way sorry! :)

Review and Add! And give me more feed back people!


	4. 4: The Relization

I am so LATE! I am terribly sorry! This has been setting for a few weeks but woth all the traviling and everythign.. Ahhh so sorry! Umm okay just enjoy!

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Alex had had to take deep, calming breaths the whole walk to where ever it was they were going. Once Rachel and Harley had made it down, Rachel had leaded them through a door behind the counter. Alex had originally assumed this was the shop and docks and he was pretty sure he was right, but Blackwatch had put up thick plastic walls to make separate rooms. Parlor had taken them to the left where they went down a flight of stairs to a floor with much more rooms and smaller hall ways. Harley was walking behind him while Rachel limbed in front. And the speed and proximity to these much loathed people were making Alex quite….. Animalistic.

On more than one occasion, Alex had growled. And twice now he had full out snarled at a passing solider. This had of course raised alarm and Alex then had to bat away a rod and a gun. He would simply mumbled a 'Watch it' or a 'No biggy' before shoving his hands in his pockets and facing forwards once more.

After about ten minutes, Rachel had stopped at a door with two guards stationed at it. She showed them a card and had Harley flash a badge of some kind. "And this is him I take it?"

"Yes." Rachel had answered. The guards lip tilted down into an unsure scowl. "Oh for heaven's sake! Use an I.E. if you must!" Parlor had yelled shaking her head back and forth. The guard reached into his pocket to retrieve what looked like a pocket watch. When he opened it however, he pulled out a very teched out monocle. Alex felt Harley lean forward

"I.E. Infected Eye. It shows us and identifies what virus's people might be carrying and exactly how much. We used one when you were at the coffee shop. You were a very big white silhouette in our vision. We use a much bigger one at the main HQ when-" Harley had explained before being shushed by Rachel and glared at.

The I.E. had a red lens and a silver frame. It clasped onto the guards helmet. '_It's like my infected vision._' Alex mused. "Okay. You're clear." The guards had said opening the door. Alex squared his shoulders and removed his hands from his pocket. When neither Rachel nor Harley took the lead, he looked over at Rachel arching a questioning eye brow. She simply pointed towards the door with a reassuring nod.

"The doctor has already removed the sedation and injected a counter agent. You can go in and we'll have an escort sent to you in a half hour." Rachel said with a smile. A fake smile. But a smile. Alex returned his understanding in the form of a nod took another deep breath and walked in. The sight shocked him.

"Dana…." He whispered. He closed the door with his foot as he stepped over to her bed. He reached down with one had to gently clasp one of hers and with the other, which had melted into a whip fist, grabbed a nearby chair. After he had sat down, he took her hand in both of his slightly bigger ones and lightly dragged her knuckles across his forehead. His 'heart' was in his ears again. Alex really hadn't realized how much he missed his sister. It had only been thirty four hours with him knowing she wasn't safe and he was a ticking time bomb of nerves.

After Alex had slowed his breathing he brought their hands drop on the bed and started rubbing small circles on Dana's. With his other, he moved a lock of her brown hair. Only then did he notice the bandage. There was a wrap around her head. Wraps were used for injuries. Dana had an injury. The wrap was on her head. Someone had given Dana a head injury. Alex hadn't noticed he was standing over her till after he looked at the door and looked back at Dana. He needed to calm down. Dana was less than a foot away. If he freaked out, she would be harmed.

Since he was up, Alex decided to do a thorough body inspection starting from head to toe. The heaviest of the wrapping was just above Danas check bone and the lower section of the temple. The back of the base of her scull had a small cut but it didn't look resent. On the sides of her neck was bruising that looked like a hand but it didn't look like she was strangled though, just held in place. Her shoulders seemed fine. Her torso was fine. The upper part of her arms also had some bruising for hands. And so did her wrist. Everything else was fine until Alex got to her left ankle. It had a tenser wrap around it.

He heard Dana take in a deep breath and was back at her side but she soon settled back down. Alex rubbed her cheek affectionately before going back to her ankle to make sure it wasn't broken. He started to rub around it, feeling for a fracture or break. It only felt swollen. So Alex gentle picked it up and very gently rotated it. He however missed the grimace on Dana's face and the pair grey blue eyes open slightly. It wasn't until a pink convers shoe hit him in the face that he realized Dana had awoken.

Alex stumbled back holding his jaw as Dana rolled off the other side of the bed. She landed with a groan that got Alex's attention. "Dana! Shh… It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. They're not going to hurt you anymore. I promise." Alex whispered as he ran over to her side and helped her into a sitting position.

"Fuck Alex… What the hell is going on?!" Dana yelled before pinching her eyes shut and rubbing her head. "God damn it…" She mumbled. Alex began to rub slow circles on Dana's back. That seemed to have drawn Dana back and, to Alex's dismay, she moved away and stood up. It hurt, he guess, that she still didn't trust him. He felt her tense when he gave her a hug. She flinched when he tried to stroke her cheek. And when he did get a chance to show affection, she'd move away.

"I'm not sure. The boss, Rachel Parlor, needed to speak with me. But I think we're just going to break out of here and lay low for a bit. I want to get you checked out and safe." Alex answered. Dana was looking a little pale and that was concerning.

After a few minutes, Dana spoke up. "I think you should hear what they have to say."

"What?" '_Are you Crazy?' _Alex reframed from asking. Maybe her head injury was a bit more serious than he originally thought.

"I think… There's something going on that's freaked the hell out of those who know. And those who don't are low class dog. Their just muscle to the higher ups. I mean they want _YOUR_ help Alex! These are the same guys who have been trying to wipe your ass off the planet so… it sounds important is all." Dana finished holding a hand to her head and stomach. She was leaning on the bed for support.

Alex considered what Dana said. It was true. The military shouldn't want his help. Unless they wanted to experiment on him… But even then they would have just caught him or restrained him already. Then he considered Dana. She didn't look well. All pale, fragile looking. "Fine. But I want you an arm's length from me the entire time. If they try to separate us… All bets are off. Deal?"

"Sure, Whatever." Dana answered just as the door opened. Another guard in uniform came in.

"Hello Mr. and Miss. Mercer. I'm here to escort you to Miss. Parlor's office."

Thirty minutes later, Alex, Dana and the escort arrived at a conference room door. The room was long in length but not very wide or very tall. The whole left wall was a giant window overlooking the shop. There were three tables pushed together to form a lower cased 'n' with Rachel and Harley sitting at the top left corner. The rest of the tables were littered with pages. "Well hello you two. Why don't you take a seat and we'll get started." Rachel suggested giving a welcoming smile. Alex pulled out a chair that was three away from the Blackwatch officers and offered it to Dana, who was hugging herself and giving the other two people in the room hateful glares. Alex gently placed a hand on her shoulder and placed her in the chair. Once she was seated, he took the chair to her left, in between them and Dana.

"Hey before we get started, I want to ask something." Harley asked nonchalantly. Everyone just stared at him. "Miss. Mercer?" Dana directed her death glare to him. "Listen, you haven't had anything but sedatives since you've been here. The doc said you might be a little nauseous or dizzy and said that a little bit of food would do you good. So I had the kitchen boys prepare you a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, and hash browns. Here you go sweet heart." He pulled a silver tray off the chair to his left and passed it down to Alex, who put it in front of Dana. She then glared at the tray and pushed it away.

"Screw you and your food ass hole. If I remember correctly, you tried to chloroform me at my apartment." Dana spat out at Harley. There wasn't as much venom in her voice as there normally was and that worried Alex. "It probably has some chemical or drug in it anyway." Harley actually looked hurt but Dana didn't care. She just turned and rested her back and head against Alex's arm. Alex could understand Dana's distrust towards Harley. He himself wouldn't mind ripping his intestines out and chocking him out with them, now that he knew that Harley was one of Dana's kidnappers. But he had a point. Dana needed some food.

Alex opened the tray, grabbed the fork and grabbed a little bit of everything. He then proceeded to bite the food off into his own mouth. Everyone in the room gave him an odd look. Rachel's was a curious and flabbergasted. Harley just seemed nervous and confused. Dana's was shocked and concerned. She knew what food that wasn't fresh and raw meat did to his systems. He did too. That's why he took _small_ bites. Alex swallowed and closed his eyes. After a few moments he looked over at Dana and handed her fork back. "It's fine. Nothing besides food and some seasonings. Now eat." Alex then looked back at Rachel "Let's get started. I don't want to be here any longer."

"Right… Okay. Over the past few months, Blackwatch has been working on a side mission. Project Crusade. It's been going fine. But last month the labs, we added a chemical agent to see if we could push its adrenaline out more. It…Had an odd side effect." Rachel explained.

"Adrenaline is only present in living life forms. What exactly are you dealing with?" Alex asked.

"A bi-product of Elizabeth Greene." Rachel answered with hesitation and looked almost pleadingly at the Mercer siblings. This is was the moment. The moment where everything could go very wrong. Everyone had told her she should have had this conversation over the phone. When she denied, they suggested over a file that the two could read over. People had hypothesized that Alex would be mad and act out aggressively. But Rachel had thought that maybe, just maybe, he'd be curious enough to hear them out. And even if the creature was as heartless as he looked while staring daggers at her right now, his sister might convince him to help for the sake of the planet.

"What does the bi product do?" Alex asked in a small growl. Everyone could tell he was pissed. Even Alex knew he was pissed. That's why he removed the arm that was wrapped around his sister.

"We are not sure. We aren't even sure whether it realizes what it's doing. We administrated the chemical and half hour later, it….. Exploded? Well not exactly. It expanded and attacked the walls, with tendrils. Some wrapped around it, like a cocoon, most of the tendrils just killed the scientist and guards surrounding its containment cell. It walked out of its cocoon about an three hours later very weak. We have pictures of the cocoon here." Rachel said and Harvey handed them a manila folder.

Alex flipped through it. Some of the pictures were security snap shots, other were photos. There were also some charts. Alex looked at the charts first. Temperatures over the past month. Consumption rates. Attitude towards elements. Blood pressure and oxygen intake….. That caught his attention. At times they'd be similar to a child. Then they would be way over a humans doing intense exercise. And some of these rates showed it having none all together.

He moved to the security shots next. There was a security guard standing in one, the next he was turning towards the wall, gun ready. The one after, a tendril had grabbed his head and smashed it into the wall. The last was of his head and upper spinal column was being ripped off by a tendril protruding from the wall.

Alex heard Dana mumble 'Oh my God.' and grabbed a different set of security photos. These ones looked like one in an observation deck. People were watching out of a window, some were on monitors. Everything was normal. The next photo multiple tendrils and two almost club like tendrils came in the surrounding wall and the window. The one after that had people being pulled out of the room; others were pinned to the wall. The next was a big explosion from one of the clubs and a body flying back first into the camera. The last was all static.

And last set of pictures showed a bulge of what looked like a small hive sack. It was connected to the ceiling and the floor there was also tendrils the size of trees branching of into the walls and the floor. There were different angled shots of this hive. The one close up had a blood splatter on the lenses.

"Are these after or before he exited?" Alex asked.

"Before. Why?" Harvey asked grimly.

"If you look closely at the sack, there is something in there. And a lot of liquid. This report says these photographers and there guards died….. Are you sure they just didn't get infected?" Alex asked curiously.

"These shots are almost a week old. None of the reported dead have shown up." Rachel answered. "We haven't been able to get anymore shots because the structure expanded."

"It expanded…"Alex repeated rubbing his chin. He was looking at the pictures of the hive. If only he could move the blood splatter. He would love to see what was in the sake. Dana poked his elbow, wanting the pictures he was holding. HE looked at her grimly. He didn't want her seeing this. He shook his head slowly. Dana gave him her 'Really?' glare before waving the observation deck shots. Alex looked down to where he had left them and back at his sister before sighing and giving up the pictures.

A few minutes later, Dana spoke up. "Hey Alex?" Alex leaned over towards his sister. "Doesn't that….. That looks a lot like a person. Curled up. But look, that could be a head right there. This is the back and here are the feet and the calves." Dana said tracing the parts with her figure. "And if you look in this one you can almost make out two shoulders." This caught Harvey's attention and he came over. Alex just stared. There was a body and it was the same body in all shots.

"Must be the Project. I mean, it did come out of that thing." Harvey said dismissively walking away. And Alex watched him the whole way. He didn't even realized he was pissed tell he stabbed himself with his claws. '_Not an it…._' An all too familiar voice whispered in his head. It was a female. Alex jumped up out of his chair and whipped around.

"Do you have any pictures of the project?" Alex asked almost hastily.

"I only brought one. And it's not very good." Rachel answered handing him a photo. The photo was another security shot but the there was a crack on the lenses covering majority of the right side. The camera was grey due to damage. But in the figure in the left side could be made out perfectly. There it was. A person. Walking with its arm out stretched using the wall as a support. '_My Baby!_' Elizabeth shouted in a cracked voice in his head. A memory of a delivery room. The doctor's hands covered in blood as he explained to Alex, who was a female restrained to the bed, that her baby had not survived and was dead. Then another memory of hearing a high pitched wail of a new born and army boots on the ground.

Alex shook his head to clear it of the memory before looking down at Dana and then to Rachel. "What is it you need me to do?" He asked steadily.

* * *

Alright thats that. Umm what did you like and what didnt you like. Rate, comment, all that jazz...

Actully, I do need some help. The Project needs a real name. Any suggestions?


End file.
